My Passover Seder

This year (almost) in Jerusalem. Our seder always ends with the line, "This year in Jerusalem". I was so close to that this year, but I have family living in Omer (near Be'er Sheva) and I went to Nanci's house for the seder. However, she is a Messianic Jew, so the night was very different than I had anticipated.

To the best of my understanding, Messianic Judaism connects itself to the early followers of Jesus. They still consider themselves Jewish and therefore celebrate Jewish Holidays, but they have also accepted Jesus as their savior and the Messiah. This does not mesh with my own beliefs and views of the world, however, I thought it was important to be with family for the holiday.

The experience was interesting. The seder was similar to what I am used to, but there were nuanced differences and some very obvious changes reflecting the beliefs of the community I was in. I still don't know exactly how I feel about the seder itself, but I respect the right of that community to celebrate the holiday in the way they see fit.

I'm glad that I was with family and it was an interesting interfaith experience. But I was left wanting something else. I guess there is always next year. I hope I can find time to make a Passover Seder at my apartment next year in Cincinnati.

In Joshua's Shoes: This Year in Jerusalem

As I've started to celebrate Passover as a celebratory holiday, I found that very easy to do this year. The city of Jerusalem is designed to let you have an easy passover.

You can read some of my experience at this link: In Joshua's Shoes: This Year in Jerusalem

While you're at TCJewfolk check out their other stories and blog posts about being Jewish in the Minneapolis / Saint Paul area.